|
Background:
|
Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon
independence from the UK in 1966. King MOSHOESHOE
was exiled in 1990. Constitutional government was
restored in 1993 after 23 years of military rule. In
1998, violent protests and a military mutiny
following a contentious election prompted a brief
but bloody South African military intervention.
Constitutional reforms have since restored political
stability; peaceful parliamentary elections were
held in 2002. |
|
Location:
|
Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa |
|
Geographic coordinates:
|
29 30
S, 28 30 E
|
|
Area:
|
total: 30,355 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 30,355 sq km |
|
Climate:
|
temperate;
cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers |
|
Terrain:
|
mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains
|
|
Natural resources:
|
water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds
and other minerals |
|
Natural hazards:
|
periodic droughts
|
|
Population:
|
1,865,040
note: estimates for this country explicitly
take into account the effects of excess mortality
due to AIDS; this can result in lower life
expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates,
lower population and growth rates, and changes in
the distribution of population by age and sex than
would otherwise be expected (July 2004 est.) |
|
Nationality:
|
noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho |
|
Ethnic groups:
|
Sotho
99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, |
|
Religions:
|
Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% |
|
Languages:
|
Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu,
Xhosa |
|
Country name:
|
conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho
conventional short form: Lesotho
former: Basutoland |
|
Capital:
|
Maseru |
|
Flag description:
|
divided diagonally from the lower hoist side corner;
the upper half is white, bearing the brown
silhouette of a large shield with crossed spear and
club; the lower half is a diagonal blue band with a
green triangle in the corner |
|
Economy - overview:
|
Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho relies
on remittances from miners employed in South Africa
and customs duties from the Southern Africa Customs
Union for the majority of government revenue, but
the government has strengthened its tax system to
reduce dependency on customs duties. Completion of a
major hydropower facility in January 1998 now
permits the sale of water to South Africa, also
generating royalties for Lesotho. As the number of
mineworkers has declined steadily over the past
several years, a small manufacturing base has
developed based on farm products that support the
milling, canning, leather, and jute industries and a
rapidly growing apparel-assembly sector. The economy
is still primarily based on subsistence agriculture,
especially livestock, although drought has decreased
agricultural activity. The extreme inequality in the
distribution of income remains a major drawback.
Lesotho has signed an Interim Poverty Reduction and
Growth Facility with the IMF. |
|
Currency:
|
loti
(LSL); South African rand (ZAR) |
|
Currency code:
|
LSL;
ZAR |
|
Telephone system:
|
general assessment: rudimentary system
domestic: consists of a few landlines, a
small microwave radio relay system, and a minor
radiotelephone communication system; a cellular
mobile telephone system is growing
international: country code - 266; satellite
earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
|
Internet country code:
|
.ls
|
|
 |
|
